Penn St. stuns Wisconsin for Big Ten title
INDIANAPOLIS - Trace McSorley threw four touchdown passes Saturday night and No. 8 Penn State stunned No. 5 Wisconsin 38-31, rallying from a 21-point first-half deficit to claim its first conference title in eight years with the greatest comeback in Big Ten title game history.
Now the East Division champs must wait to see if the selection committee rewards them with one of the four coveted playoff spots on Sunday.
If the committee was impressed with the turnaround, it just might give the Nittany Lions (11-2) a chance.
They trailed 28-7 with 5:15 left in the first half, but McSorley led Penn State to touchdowns on each of its next four possessions, finally taking a 35-31 lead on an 18-yard TD pass to Saquon Barkley with 13:41 left in the game. The Nittany Lions never trailed again.
ACC
No. 3 Clemson 42, No. 18 Virginia
Tech 35: Deshaun Watson bolstered his Heisman Trophy candidacy by passing for three touchdowns and running for two more to lead third-ranked Clemson over Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
Winning consecutive league titles for the first time in 28 years likely will send the Tigers (12-1, No. 3 CFP) back to the four-team College Football Playoff for the second straight year, providing Watson with an opportunity to resolve unfinished business from last January, when his team lost to Alabama in the national championship game.
The Clemson star completed 23 of 34 passes for 288 yards, including TDs of 21 and 10 yards to Jordan Leggett and 15 yards to Hunter Renfrow for a 42-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter. He also rushed for 85 yards on 17 attempts for the Tigers, who’ve won back-to-back ACC titles for the first time since winning three straight from 1986-88.
Watson’s Virginia Tech counterpart, Jerod Evans, was just as impressive. The 6-foot-3, 238-pound ran for two touchdowns and rallied the Hokies from a 21point deficit to make it close at the end.
AAC
Temple 34, No. 20 Navy 10: ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Phillip Walker threw two touchdown passes, Temple’s defense stuffed Navy’s running game and the Owls claimed their first American Athletic Conference title with a 34-10 win.
After Temple (10-3) scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, protecting the 21-0 lead became substantially easier when No. 20 Navy (9-3, No. 19 CFP) lost standout quarterback Will Worth to a second-quarter ankle injury.
Although the defeat took Navy out of the running for the Cotton Bowl, the Midshipmen are expected to play in the Armed Forces Bowl after facing Army next Saturday.
The Owls extended their winning streak to seven and earned their first league title since finishing atop the Middle American Conference in 1967.
Conference USA
Western Kentucky 58, Louisiana Tech 44: Anthony Wales rushed for 209 yards and four touchdowns, Mike White threw for 421 and three more scores and Western Kentucky defeated Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA championship game.
The Hilltoppers (10-3) and Bulldogs (8-5), who won the regular-season matchup 55-52 on Oct. 6, combined for 1,163 yards of total offense in the highest scoring championship game in C-USA history.
SWAC
Grambling State 27, Alcorn State
20: The Grambling State overcame a 17point halftime deficit to defeat Alcorn State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship.
The game was a rematch of the 2015 SWAC title game, which Alcorn State won 49-21. The Tigers won their first SWAC championship since 2011 and 24th conference title in school history, the most in the conference.
Mountain West
San Diego State 27, at Wyoming 24: Rashaad Penny rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, and Donnel Pumphrey added 110 yards and one TD as San Diego State beat Wyoming for its second consecutive Mountain West Conference championship.
Penny also gained 113 yards on two kickoff returns and 13 receiving yards for a total of 243 all-purpose yards for the Aztecs (10-3).
Top 25
State 20: Baker Mayfield passed for 288 yards and three touchdowns as Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State in a matchup that decided the Big 12 title and likely guaranteed the Sooners a trip to the Sugar Bowl.
Mayfield performed well throughout, despite finishing the game without top receiver Dede Westbrook.
Westbrook caught four passes for 111 yards before being knocked out of the game on a crushing hit by safety Jordan Sterns.
Samaje Perine rambled for 239 yards on a career-high 37 carries and Joe Mixon caught a touchdown pass and busted a 79-yard touchdown run for the Sooners (10-2, 9-0 Big 12, No. 9 College Football Playoff).
At No. 14 West Virginia 24, Baylor
21: Skyler Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as West Virginia held on in the Big 12 regular-season finale for both teams.
Justin Crawford rushed for 209 yards to help the Mountaineers (10-2, 7-2) to a first 10-win regular-season since 2007.
Best of the Rest
Kansas St. 30, at TCU 6: Jesse Ertz ran for a career-high 170 yards with a touchdown and threw an 83-yard scoring pass as Kansas State ended its regular season with a win at TCU.
Coach Bill Snyder got his 201st victory in 25 seasons with the Wildcats (8-4, 6-3 Big 12), who next will play in their 20th bowl game — the 19th under Snyder. Kansas State appears headed to the Houston Bowl to play an SEC team.
— Wire services